Illegal Whaling Continues, Despite The Ban

Whaling is the hunting and killing of whales for food and oil. There are 3 types of whaling taking place currently:

• Commercial Whaling: The killing of whales for monetary gain. This type of whaling is now illegal.
• Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling: Killing whales to support aboriginal people.
• Special Permit Whaling: For the purpose of scientific research.

by Howard Ignatius via Flickr.com
used under Creative Commons License

The practice of whaling has been around for thousands of years, and was most predominant among Norwegians and Japanese. Whaling slowly spread to North America, and with the rise of new technologies such as gun-loaded harpoons, it became increasingly more common. Unfortunately, as it grew, the whale population shrank.

Effects of Whaling

In the early 1900's, it started to become obvious that large-scale commercial whaling was devastating whale populations worldwide. Today, despite heavy regulations, some whale species have failed to recover entirely. These species include:

• Blue Whale (Although populations are slowly increasing)
• Fin Whale (Insufficient data, but research suggests numbers have not increased substantially)
• Western North Pacific Gray Whale (Critically endangered. It is estimated that only around 130 are left)
• North Pacific Right Whale (One of the most endangered whale species today)
• North Atlantic Right Whale (Also critically endangered)

Grey Whale - by Joe McKenna via Flickr.com
used under Creative Commons License

Despite this somewhat dismal information, there is also a wide variety of whale populations that have recovered significantly. Some have even reached pre-exploitation levels. These include:

• Humpback Whale
• Eastern North Pacific Gray Whale (In contrast to the Western North Pacific population)
• Bowhead Whale
• Southern Right Whale (Mostly confined to areas around South Africa, Brazil, and Australia)

Humpback Whale - by Graham Cook via Flickr.com
used under Creative Commons License

Efforts to End Whaling

Whaling was a fairly common practice until the 1930's, when it started becoming more and more unacceptable as whale populations dwindled. In 1946, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was founded to regulate the worldwide threat against whales. The organization imposed limits and quotas defining how many whales could be killed to prevent overhunting, but these limits were criticized as being too loose. In 1982, commercial whaling was completely outlawed. This law is still in place today.

Killer Whale - via Wikipedia - Public Domain

Some countries continue to commercially hunt whales despite the law. Norway and Japan are two of the worst offenders. They often hide their hunting under the guise of scientific research, and many groups have tried to expose their behavior. Greenpeace is one of the most well known advocates of whale conservation today. They have spoken openly about Japan's corrupt whaling practices, and are currently trying to influence members of the IWC to put more pressure on them.

SOURCES

Whaling Around the World. (n.d.). Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Retrieved , from http://www.seashepherd.org/whales/whaling-around-the-world.html

whaling. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved , from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/641450/whaling/65551/Regulation

Whaling. (n.d.). International Whaling Commission. Retrieved , from http://iwc.int/whaling

Big Fish: A Brief History of Whaling. (n.d.). National Geographic. Retrieved , from http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/news/big-fish-history-whaling/?ar_a=1

Whaling. (n.d.). Greenpeace. Retrieved , from http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/fit-for-the-future/whaling/